Page 11 of Bad Words

Oh, no, really no need for that lol. Tell Sarah and Brady hi for me :) hope you all have fun :D

Arthur

8:25 PM

We will, see you tomorrow!

When I woke up, nothing about the night seemed real. Who had that man been, that author who’d stormed through a party to yell at his generation’s most prominent critic? Surely I couldn’t have done something that reckless, that impulsive.

I couldn’t even blame the alcohol. When I rose from my bed, I discovered that I had no hangover. The world felt sun-touched, like some knob had turned to increase the brightness of everything around me, but my head was clear, my body relaxed.

As I washed my face and showered, I marveled at how good, exactly, I felt. Every motion in the mirror looked calm, confident, as I folded my glasses, pressed in my contact lenses, and tapped out my antidepressant. Chan had gotten the last word, but hadn’t I said what I’d meant to say?

I’d even dug under her skin. That was the most satisfying memory: her face reddened, her mouth twisted. Maybe I’d never wanted restitution, or an explanation. Maybe I’d only ever wanted to make Selina Chan as angry as I felt.

I returned to my bedroom and picked up my phone from my bedside table.

That quickly, every drop of calm evaporated.

I had eighty-six notifications. A text from Bill at 7 AM that said, Call me. Arthur had linked me a video at three in the morning with the single word, Dude.

My heart began to drum. I loaded the video, which had been posted last night around ten o’clock by an account whose username was a twelve-digit string of random numbers.

Walnut bookshelves. Glittering chandeliers. Selina Chan and I were standing feet from each other, my fists balled and shoulders straining, her face tilted disdainfully toward me. I was snarling at her, “You must be such a miserable person.”

“Oh my God,” I choked out, checking the timestamp. The video was six minutes long. This person had seen nearly the whole thing.

I called Bill in a nauseated trance, pacing, careening, from my bathroom door to the window and back. The hangover had hit, pulsing behind my temple. As the phone rang and rang, nightmarish brightness throbbed around me.

“Parker,” came Bill’s gravelly baritone. The climax of Mahler’s fifth symphony cascaded behind his voice. “I was just going to give you another call.”

“I’m so sorry. It was so stupid. I shouldn’t’ve—”

“Sorry? Why are you sorry?”

I stopped midpace, wondering if I’d misheard.

“Because I wrecked my career by confronting Selina Chan on video?”

To my amazement, Bill laughed. “Parker, you’re behind the times. Read the reactions and call me back. And The New York Times wants to talk to you.”

Chapter FourSelina

Search results for: Selina Chan

1m ago wow, Selina Chan really is that mean irl, lol …

1m ago Did any of you WATCH the video? Selina Chan didn’t do anything that deserved a confrontation. She reviewed a book. Leave it to some entitled man to take issue with a woman doing her job.

1m ago Selina Chan thinks she’s that bitch but she’s just a bitch. Like girlie you are not that important sit tf down.

2m ago My opinion on The Video is that both Selina Chan and Parker Navarro could get it

“Have a seat,” said Scott.

I balked. He was sitting in his usual place at the round table. Beside him, wearing a fixed smile that promised death, sat Hayden.

“We’re not firing you,” Scott added.